Casenotes: Maritime Law—Land-Based Negligence
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University of Baltimore Law Review Volume 11 Article 6 Issue 2 Winter 1982 1982 Casenotes: Maritime Law — Land-Based Negligence Standard of Care Established in a Longshoreman's Third Party Action against Vessel Owner Under the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act of 1972. Scindia Steam Navigation Co. v. Santos, 451 U.S. 156 (1981) Julia C. Neal University of Baltimore School of Law Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/ublr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Neal, Julia C. (1982) "Casenotes: Maritime Law — Land-Based Negligence Standard of Care Established in a Longshoreman's Third Party Action against Vessel Owner Under the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act of 1972. Scindia Steam Navigation Co. v. Santos, 451 U.S. 156 (1981)," University of Baltimore Law Review: Vol. 11: Iss. 2, Article 6. Available at: http://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/ublr/vol11/iss2/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@University of Baltimore School of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Baltimore Law Review by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@University of Baltimore School of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CASENOTES MARITIME LAW - LAND-BASED NEGLIGENCE STANDARD OF CARE ESTABLISHED IN A LONGSHOREMAN'S THIRD PARTY ACTION AGAINST VESSEL OWNER UNDER THE LONGSHOREMEN'S AND HARBOR WORKERS' COMPENSA- TION ACT OF 1972. Scindia Steam Navigation Co. v. Santos, 451 U.S. 156 (1981). I. INTRODUCTION The 1972 amendments to the Longshoremen's and Harbor Work- ers' Compensation Act (LHWCA)' limited an injured longshoreman's cause of action against a vessel owner to negligence.' However, these amendments failed to state the standard of care required of the vessel owner.' Consequently, the federal courts have struggled with establish- ing the proper standard of care that is to be applied in a longshore- man's third party negligence action against a vessel owner.4 In Scindia Steam Navigation Co. v. Santosi the Supreme Court held that a vessel owner has no general duty to discover dangerous conditions that de- velop within the confines of the operations assigned to the stevedore.6 However, where the dangerous condition becomes known to the vessel owner, he will under certain circumstances have a duty to act when the dangerous condition arises from the malfunctioning of the vessel's gear 1. Act of Oct. 27, 1972, Pub. L. No. 92-576, 86 Stat. 1251 (amending 33 U.S.C. §§ 901-950 (1970)). 2. 33 U.S.C. § 905(b) (1976). Section 905(b) of the Act provides: In the event of injury to a person covered under this chapter caused by the negligence of a vessel, then such person, or anyone otherwise enti- tled to recover damages by reason thereof, may bring an action against such vessel as a third party in accordance with the provisions of Section 933 of this title, and the employer shall not be liable to the vessel for such damages directly or indirectly and any agreements or warranties to the contrary shall be void. If such person was employed by the vessel to provide stevedoring services, no such action shall be permitted if the in- jury was caused by the negligence of persons engaged in providing steve- doring services to the vessel. If such person was employed by the vessel to provide ship building or repair services, no such action shall be per- mitted if the injury was caused by the negligence of persons engaged in providing ship building or repair services to the vessel. The liability of the vessel under this subsection shall not be based upon the warranty of seaworthiness or a breach thereof at the time the injury occurred. The remedy provided in this subsection shall be exclusive of all other reme- dies against the vessel except remedies available under this chapter. 3. See id 4. See, e.g., Comment, Shiowner Liability Under Section 905(b) of the Longshore- men's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act." A ProposedStandard of Care, 9 FORDHAM URB. L.J. 323 (1980); Comment, Negligence Standards Under the 1972 Amendments to the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act: Ex- amining the Viewpoints, 21 VILL. L. REV. 244 (1976). 5. 451 U.S. 156 (1981). 6. Id at 172. A stevedore is one who is responsible for unloading a ship in port. WEBSTER'S SEVENTH NEW COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY 860 (1965). 19821 Scindia Steam Navigation Co. v. Santos 333 being used in the stevedore operations.7 This casenote examines the standards of care adopted by the federal circuit courts, analyzes Scindia in light of those standards, and evaluates the impact this decision will have on future negligence actions brought under the LHWCA.8 II. THE FACTUAL BACKGROUND Santos, a longshoreman and employee of the Seattle Stevedore Company, was injured while loading a vessel owned by Scindia Steam Navigation Company. 9 On the day of the accident, his task was to re- move sacks of wheat from a pallet board' 0 that was lowered into the hatch by a winch" and then properly stow the sacks of wheat."2 The winch that was being used, which was part of the ship's gear, was mal- functioning to the extent that when the brakes were applied, it would not come to a complete stop.' 3 The accident which caused Santos' inju- ries occurred when a pallet board failed to stop until it hit a pallet jack,' 4 spilling half the sacks of wheat from the pallet.'5 The hatch tender, believing the remaining sacks were secure enough not to fall, ordered the winch operator to raise the pallet about fifteen feet. Santos and three other longshoremen were permitted to clear away the spilled sacks. A few minutes later, more sacks fell from the pallet, striking and injuring Santos. 6 Santos instituted a third party action against Scindia Steam Navi- gation Company for negligence pursuant to section 905(b) of the 7. 451 U.S. 156, 175-76 (1981). 8. 33 U.S.C. § 905(b) (1976). 9. Scindia Steam Navigation Co. v. Santos, 451 U.S. 156, 158 (1981). 10. A pallet is "a portable platform of wood or other material for handling, storage, or movement of materials and packages in warehouses, factories, or vehicles." WEB- STER'S SEVENTH NEW COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY 606 (1965). 11. A winch is "a powerful machine with one or more drums on which to coil a rope, cable or chain for hauling or hoisting." Id at 1022. 12. Scindia Steam Navigation Co. v. Santos, 451 U.S. 156, 160 (1981). 13. Santos' accident occurred on December 10, 1972. The winch driver had com- plained to his foreman on December 8th that the brakes were not holding on the winches; instead, they would travel several more feet before the brakes could stop the descent of the load. Brief for Respondent at 4-7, Scindia Steam Navigation Co. v. Santos, 451 U.S. 156 (1981). 14. "A pallet jack is a small, wheeled, cartlike vehicle with prongs on the front like a forklift with which the longshoremen in the hold would cart the pallet load to the wings of the hold where they would then remove the sacks and stow them by hand." Scindia Steam Navigation Co. v. Santos, 451 U.S. 156, 160 (1981). 15. Id 16. Id Three sacks struck Santos, one hitting him in the back of the neck. Brief for Respondent at 6, Scindia Steam Navigation Co. v. Santos, 451 U.S. 156 (1981). There was some disagreement as to whether the additional sacks fell because of the braking mechanism allowing the suspended pallet to slip a few times, work- ing loose the additional sacks that fell, or whether the additional sacks fell because the pallet board was swinging back and forth. Scindia Steam Navigation Co. v. Santos, 451 U.S. 156, 160 (1981). Baltimore Law Review [Vol. II LHWCA. 17 The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, applying the Restatement standard, 18 held that there was no genuine issue as to any material facts and entered judgment in favor of Scindia Steam Navigation Company. 9 The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, reversing the district court, held that the controlling standard for actions brought under section 905(b) is a "reasonable care under the circumstances approach."2 Under this view, the court of appeals found that there 21 were material facts in dis- pute that were to be resolved by a jury. III. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND A. The Early Development For many years, the longshoremen's work of unloading and load- ing vessels was treated as a non-maritime activity.22 But in 1914, the Supreme Court announced that actions by longshoremen against steve- dores for injuries were to be subject to admiralty jurisdiction.23 At this 17. 33 U.S.C. § 905(b) (1976). 18. RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS §§ 343, 343A (1965). 19. 451 U.S. 156, 162 (1981). The standard applied by the district court was as follows: [A] shipowner is not liable for dangerous conditions created by the steve- dore's negligence while the stevedore was in exclusive control over the manner and the area of the work. nor is the shipowner under a duty to warn the stevedore or his employees of dangers or open and obvious defects which are known to the stevedore or his employees or which are so obvious and apparent that they may reasonably be expected to dis- cover them. 1976 A.M.C. 2583, 2585 (W.D. Wash. 1976), rey'd, 598 F.2d 480 (9th Cir.